Accounting consists in measuring, taking record of and communicating the financial data concerning operations relative to the financing, the investments and the running of a business. The communication of the information is done via financial statements, which are the outcome of the accounting process. The main goal of financial statements is to provide pertinent information for the making of decisions concerning the optimal operation of a business. The presentation must be suitable, that is, enough detail so as not to introduce errors, and should include complementary notes and additional information necessary for a complete and faithful representation of the financial situation of a business at a precise date and of its productivity for a given period of time. This presentation can vary according to the needs of the reader: creditors, investors, shareholders, directors, governments, employees, general public, etc. and according to the type of business.
Accounting software systems usually output a project of a financial statement which is used only by the directors. The user must respect a rigid framework which is pre-established, fixed and limited to one type of presentation, often the statement of results or the balance sheet, without the complementary notes and the additional information. Also, the consultation of these financial statements on the screen is limited to the report itself and the user cannot go back to find the source of the information. The advantage of these financial statements is that they are integrated with the accounting system. A modification in the data of the accounting system automatically modifies the financial statement. Some report generators offer more flexibility but less integration. These generators are more and more complex as they get less rigid and more integrated because of the lack of comprehension of accounting from the computer scientists who design them or because of the lack of comprehension of the operation and possibilities of a computer from the accountants which participate in their design.
Those who produce financial statements often refer to a word processor to produce final and complete financial statements. While offering all the flexibility required, the word processor has no integration with the accounting data of the accounting system.
It would be useful and innovative if the knowledge surrounding accounting and the operation of computers would be unified to produce a tool which enables accounting systems and word processor software to create all kinds of financial statements tailored to the needs of the user, in a simple way, without respecting a rigid framework. The processing and the integration with the accounting data would permit tailored financial statements.